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Local Reaches Workout Milestone

ST. MARYS — St. Marys resident Barb Lutz surpassed the 2,000 workout mark at the local Curves, where she has been going for the past 11 years.

“I started out of curiosity to begin with,” Lutz said. “I had a free pass to try it out for two weeks, and I asked my best friend and she and I came out, and we never quit.”

Lutz and her friend work out at Curves at 6:30 a.m. every weekday. The Curves program is not like a typical gym, where there are weight machines and members are on their own to pick and choose what to do.

“We have what they call circuit training; and it works with hydraulic cylinders so you get a cardio and strength workout at the same time,” Owner/Manager Rebecca Vordermark said. “You don’t have to guess how much weight to put on. In the workout you work every major muscle group. And then when you’re done with a machine, you go to a board, which are called recover stations, to give your muscles a chance to recover from the workout you did, but keep your heart rate up and that’s how you get your cardio. So when you’re on the machines, you do two things: you exhaust whatever muscle you’re using ... and your heart rate is going to go up.”

A workout CD tells members when to switch machines every 30 seconds, and results are dependent on the effort put in.

“You can start anywhere and finish anywhere, but you go around two times and then you stretch,” Vordermark said.

Lutz swears by the Curves workout.

“It keeps you flexible, it helps with weight,” she said. “It’s great. I would be lost without Curves. I start my day. After you finish, you feel so good, you have so much more energy, you feel stronger. It’s just a good workout.”

Curves has six coaches who are certified to help members with the Curves Complete program, the combination of diet, exercise and motivation plan Curves offers.

“(With the Curves Complete program ) you lose body fat — you don’t just lose weight,” Vordermark said. “What happens with most people is if you don’t work out while you’re dieting, you lose muscle. So when you gain it back, you gain back fat. So that’s putting that body fat percentage all out of whack and then it’s really hard to lose weight. So the curves complete is designed to reset your metabolism, to put you back to where you can eat some food without gaining weight.”

Lutz praised the program.

“And this program is for all ages,” Lutz said, noting she has yet to do the program. “Mary Lou and I have thought about it ... And the girls, the members here are always encouraging.”